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What is the best cpu and gpu combination?

PC Gaming: Which is more important, CPU or GPU?

  • I'm trying to buy a PC mainly for gaming on a limited budget (~$850). I recently found 2 decent PCs for their price, but if I were to choose one of them, I would be very much stuck. Both are from a company called Frontier, and I plan to play Battlefield 3. These are the specs: Computer A: CPU: i3-2120 (Dual Core) - 7 GPU: Nvidia GTX 550Ti - 7 RAM: 4GB - 7 Computer B: CPU: i5-2500 (Quad Core) - 10 GPU: Nvidia GTS 250 - 6 RAM: 4GB - 7 The numbers at the end indicate the score of each piece of equipment according to www.game-debate.com. The GD adjusted requirements for BF3 suggest that the : CPU is 5 or above GPU is 6 or above and the RAM to be a 7 or above. However, their recommended requirements is as of follows: CPU is 6 or above GPU is 9 or above and the RAM to be a 7 or above. So should I sacrifice for the Dual Core CPU for a better Graphics card? Or should I sacrifice the Graphics Card for a Quad Core? But before that, there is another PC I am looking into that is a bit more expensive. The specs are: Computer C: CPU: i7-2600 (Quad Core) - 10 GPU: Nvidia GTX 560 - 9 RAM: 8GB - 10 I have considered building my own PC, but is very hard to do so due to the area I live in. So here's the question. If you were to pick between A & B, which would you choose? Also, should I wait a bit more and get Computer C (keep in mind, I'm very impatient and would like to have it ASAP lol) ? I am looking for a PC that can hopefully last me at least 5 years (as in still starts up and still works and runs, not for the games that come out in the next 5 years!). Thanks!

  • Answer:

    For modern games, typically GPU is more important than CPU but it ultimately depends on the game. Different games utilize one or the other more,but most in most cases you're more GPU bound, especially when you increase your resolution. Computer C is probably the way to go The GTS 250 is basically a rebranded 9800 GTX which is just barely above the minimum for BF3. Of course if you can somehow manage to get an i5 2500K with a GTX 560 Ti then you'd be set. The non-Ti 560 is decent but the Ti version is at least 10-15% faster. The 448-core version of the 560 Ti is even faster.

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For modern games, typically GPU is more important than CPU but it ultimately depends on the game. Different games utilize one or the other more,but most in most cases you're more GPU bound, especially when you increase your resolution. Computer C is probably the way to go The GTS 250 is basically a rebranded 9800 GTX which is just barely above the minimum for BF3. Of course if you can somehow manage to get an i5 2500K with a GTX 560 Ti then you'd be set. The non-Ti 560 is decent but the Ti version is at least 10-15% faster. The 448-core version of the 560 Ti is even faster.

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I would probably go for the better processor with option B. My wife's computer has a decent video card (enough to run BF3) but the game runs slow thanks to a poor processor - mind you I don't think it's even a proper dual core so that may be the reason why :). IMHO video cards are easier to upgrade as well when you want to in the future (just unplug it and take it out of the PCI-E slot). If it's possible, wait to get Computer C since that seems to be quite powerful. If you take either Option A or B and you're planning on playing high-spec games it might be only a couple of years until you need to upgrade again.

rambutaan

I would probably go for the better processor with option B. My wife's computer has a decent video card (enough to run BF3) but the game runs slow thanks to a poor processor - mind you I don't think it's even a proper dual core so that may be the reason why :). IMHO video cards are easier to upgrade as well when you want to in the future (just unplug it and take it out of the PCI-E slot). If it's possible, wait to get Computer C since that seems to be quite powerful. If you take either Option A or B and you're planning on playing high-spec games it might be only a couple of years until you need to upgrade again.

rambutaan

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